1. They are real teams, characterized by having clear, stable boundaries and interdependent team tasks that actually affect the work each member does and the direction and resources used to get there.
2. Team leaders focus on the conditions necessary for team success. This leader may not necessarily have acharismatic style, but is skilled at linking team purposes to those of the broader organization, mobilizing people to achieve those purposes and holding them accountable for doing so, and creating organizational conditions that facilitaterather than impede competent teamwork.
3. Team members are emotionally intelligent, rather than just the smartest-of-the-smart. These members often are not the most extraordinarily analytical or conceptual thinkers motivated by achievement, initiative and strategic orientation or self-confidence. However, they are more than twice as capable as members of poor leadership teams at reading others' concerns. In addition, members of outstanding leadership teams can be counted upon to do what they say they will do, and at least one member will exhibit the integrity to do something for the good of the company, even when it requires a personal sacrifice.

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Writer: Tom Truman